Liquid fuel burning heaters



Oct. 15, 1968 H. c. HEBARD 3, ,0

LIQUID FUEL BURNING HEATERS Filed Dec. 19, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG].FIGZ.

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LIQUID FUEL BURNING HEATERS FiledDec. 19, 19 66 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M/VENTOI? HUGH CHARLES HEBARD 3ammu ATTORNEYS United States Patent C3,406,003 LIQUHD FUEL BURNING HEATERS Hugh Charles Hebard, High Wycombe,England, assignor to Aladdin Industries Limited, Greenford, England, aBritish company Filed Dec. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 602,910 Claims priority,application Ggeat Britain, Mar. 1, 1966,

69/ 6 9 Claims. (Cl. 431-307) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This inventionrelates to liquid fuel burning heaters of the kind in which an annularwick is detachably secured to a carrier capable of being raised andlowered by an externally operable pinion engaging a rack on the carrier.

A common method of fitting the wick to the carrier is to provide lugs onthe latter which are moved circumferentially into engagement withsockets secured to the former. With such an arrangement it is usuallynecessary to dis engage the rack from the pinion and remove the wickcarrier from the burner whenever the wick requires renewal, anddifficulty is often experienced in replacing the car-rier due to thetendency of the lugs thereon to slip out of engagement with the socketson the new wick.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a wick whichcan be secured to the wick carrier without removing the latter from theburner and to this end, according to the invention, at least one pair ofcircumferentially spaced socket members are secured to the outer surfaceof the wick and are adapted to receive resilient members on the wickcarrier movable radially into locking engagement with said sockets uponupward movement of the wick carrier relative to the wick.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described, by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a wick;

FIGURE 2 is a shortened elevational view of the wick taken at rightangles to FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a wick carrier;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional elevation of part of a burner structureincorporating the wick and wick carrier to FIGS. 1 to 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal section on the line VV of FIG. 4.

The annular wick shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes an upper cylindricalportion 1, the inner and outer surfaces of which are reinforced andprotected by strips of adhesive tape or like material (not shown), andtwo separate tail portions 2 depending therefrom and which in operationextend into the fuel reservoir 3 of the burner shown in FIGS. 4 and 5and pass between inner and outer wick tubes 4 and 5 respectively. Atdiametrically opposed points on the outer surface of the portion 1 ofthe wick there are mounted two clips 6 adapted to be engaged by theresilient arms 7 of an arcuate wick carrier 8 (FIG. 3) and eachconsisting of a thin metal plate shaped to fit the curvature of the wickand secured thereto by prongs (not shown) which pierce the wick fabricand are turned over on the inside thereof. Each plate is formed with acentral socket 3,400,003 Patented Oct. 15, 1968 portion 9 above andbelow which it is embossed to provide surfaces 10 whichslope outwardlyfrom the top and bottom and terminate in free parallel edges 11.

The wick carrier 8 accurately fits the inner surface of the outer wicktube 5 of the burner and is provided at its central portion with avertical rack 12 which engages a pinion 13 on the inner end of a shaft14 provided at its outer end with a knob or handwheel 15 for manualoperation. Each arm 7 of the wick carrier 8 is formed adjacent its endwith a raised portion 16 for engagement in the socket portion 9 of aclip 6 and an arcuate portion 17 having the same radius of curvature asthe main-portion of the wick carrier.

To fit the burner with a new wick to which clips 6 have already beensecured, the rack and pinion 12, 13 is operated to lower the wickcarrier 8 as far as it will go and the new wick is drawn down over theinner wick tube 4 until the clips are positioned about /2" above theupper edge of the outer wick tube 5. The tail portions 2 of the wick arethen firmly grasped to prevent upward movement of the wick and theoperating shaft 14 is rotated by means of the knob 15 to raise the wickcarrier 8. As the latter emerges from the outer wick tube 5 the raisedportions 16 on the arms 7 ride up the lower of the surfaces 10 on theclips 6 and are moved radially outward thereby until they snap into thesocket portions 9. The wick carrier 8 and with it the new wick, is thenlowered into the operative position in which the upper end of thecarrier is wholly within the outer wick tube 5. In this position, due tothe shape of the portions 17 of the wick carrier arms 7, the raisedportions 16 thereof are prevented from springing out of the socketportions and the wick is thus firmly attached to the wick carrier 8.

I claim:

1. For use in a liquid fuel burning apparatus, the combination of anannular wick having fixed to its exterior at least one pair ofcircumferentially spaced outwardly open socket members and a wickcarrier surrounding said wick having resilient arms extending inopposite circumferential directions, each arm having an inwardlyprojecting portion to extend within the associated socket member, saidprojecting arm portions and said socket members being so structurallyrelated that said arms may move substantially radially inwardly intolocking engagement with said members upon relative axial movement ofsaid wick carrier and said wick.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said socket members comprise apair of diametrically opposed socket members, each socket member beingformed with an outwardly open portion and smoothly inclined portionsabove and below said open portion upon which said wick carrier arms ridewhen moving into said locking engagement.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein each socket member comprises ametal plate shaped to the curvature of said wick and having internalattachment prongs to pierce the wick fabric.

4. The combination of claim 1, wherein each socket member is formedabove and below an open arm receiving portion with surfaces which slopeoutwardly from the top and bottom toward said open portion and terminatein oppositely facing edges which cooperate to define said open portion.

5. The combination of claim 1, wherein each arm comprises an arcuateportion of the substantially same radius of curvature as the wickcarrier axially adjacent said projecting portion, said arcuate portioninhibiting disengagement of the arm from the socket member.

6. The combination of claim 1, wherein said wick carrier comprises acentrally positioned vertical rack adapted to be meshed with a pinionfor adjustment within the burner.

burning appar atus in combination with a wick carrier,.saidwickcomprising two circumferentially spaced socket members, each socketmember being formed with an outwardly open socket recess for engagementwith an arm of said wick carrier and external smoothly inclined Wick armguide and locking portions above and below said socket recess.

8. An annular wick according to claim 7,- wherein socket membercomprises a thin metal plate shaped to fit the curvature of said wickand secured thereto by prongs which pierce the wick fabric and areturned over for attachment on the inside of said wick.

9. An annular wick according'to claim 7, wherein said socket member isformed above and below said recess with 4 v i guiding and lockingsurfaces'which slope outward from the top. and bottom .toward the recessand terminate in oppositely facing edges at said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/ 1896 Welch 6760 4/1897Nankervis 67-59 FOREIGN PATENTS 510,075 Y 4/ 1952 Belgium.

JAMES W. WEST HAVER, Primary Examiner.

